The Digital Attack Map is a free online resource, which allows you to observe in real time the top DDoS attacks worldwide on a daily basis. Data shown represents only the top 1% of reported attacks around the world.
The map allows you to search via numerous different parameters, such as ‘Type, Source Port, Duration and Destination Port’. You can look at attacks based on whether they are large, unusual or combined. The attacks are colour-coded according to the type of DDoS attack, with red representing TCP connection based attacks, for instance, and yellow volumetric attacks. Attacks are displayed as dotted lines, scaled to size and located according to the source and destination countries of the attack traffic when that information is available.
The data can also be looked at in a table form; and it contains various archival pieces, including a gallery of notable recent attacks. The attacks listed range from the Mirai attack on KrebsonSecurity in September 2016 to the global attack on the Philippines lasting under 10 minutes in September 2014. All previous maps can also be viewed via a histogram as historical data. Countries can also be viewed individually to look at a record of attacks in a particular area.
The live data visualization resource was built through a collaboration between Google Ideas (an incubator within Alphabet “that builds technology to tackle some of the toughest global security challenges facing the world today” and cybersecurity firm Arbor Networks. The map allows users to explore historic trends and see what is happening in terms of DDoS on any given day. The map creators say, “We hope this tool allows more people to understand the challenges posed by DDoS attacks” and also state their hope that it “triggers a dialogue” about how to better work together to reduce the threats from DDoS attacks, making the Internet a more secure place for everyone.
In stating why DDoS attacks matter, Google Ideas and Arbor Networks point to ways in which they can act as malevolent tools at times of national elections, to censor investigative journalism stories, or to knock rival businesses offline by their competitors. They state, “Protecting access to information is important for the Internet and important for free expression”.
More than 2,000 daily DDoS attacks are observed around the world by Arbor Networks alone, which is where the map information comes from. The site’s creators have a disclaimer, stating it is “an incomplete picture” and the data “may misidentify or exclude attack activity”.
1/3rd of all downtime worldwide is due to DDoS attacks, according to research from Verisign/Merrill Research. This comprehensive site goes some way towards helping track and mitigate both current and future attacks.